INDEPENDENT NEWS

UN In East Timor

Published: Sat 10 Jul 1999 01:09 PM
UNAMET
UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN EAST TIMOR
Briefing Summary for Friday, 9 July
The Acting Spokesman Hiro Ueki told correspondents that the Special Representative, along with the Deputy Personal Representative for the Secretary-General, Mr. Francesc Vendrell, went to helicopter to Ermera this morning. From there they were expected to fly to Same and Suai and would return to Dili in the early afternoon. He added that Mr. Vendrell has postponed his departure until Monday in order to meet with eight Indonesian ministers, including Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.
Sixty more District Electoral Officers (DEOs) arrived in Dili this morning from Darwin. The DEOs are from 27 different countries. They will be deployed to the following regions: 20 to Maliana; 12 to Ermera; 12 to Suai; 8 to Oekussi; and 8 to Dili. The total number of DEOs now deployed is 306. The final group of DEOs is expected to arrive in East Timor on Sunday, 11 July, which will bring the number deployed to 400.
A correspondent asked when the Secretary-General's report would be out. Mr. Ueki said the Secretary-General would report to the Security Council before 13 July, after receiving an assessment from his Special Representative on the security conditions.
A correspondent asked what the current deployment of UNAMET was. The Acting Spokesman said there were approximately 600 internationals (including international staff, CivPol, Military Liaison Officers, UNVs) and approximately 500 locally recruited staff. The same correspondent then asked when the last of the CivPol would be arriving. Mr. Ueki said they will all be in the country by early next week.
The Acting Spokesman was asked whether he felt it was safe for the DEOs to return to Liquica. He said UNAMET's security team, consisting of MLOs and CivPol, is currently assessing the security conditions and accommodations in Liquica. He expressed his hope that the DEOs would return as soon as possible, but that wouldn't happen until the security team was able to report that the security conditions existed for their return.
A correspondent asked whether any agreement had been reached with the Indonesian Task Force concerning access to the IDPs and the delivery of aid to them. Mr. Ueki said there has been some discussion over a possible joint assessment mission but no conclusions have been reached yet.
A correspondent asked if there was a negative impact due to the fact that UNAMET has hired 500 out of the authorized 4,000 local recruits. Mr. Ueki said the full strength of 3,600, not 4,000, was expected to be reached at the time of the polling. He added that the full complement of local recruits was not needed for the registration period and there had been no negative impact.
In response to a report that a militia member was seen wearing a UN badge, Mr. Ueki was asked what control UNAMET had over the use of UN logos by non-UN staff. He said, the use of the UN emblem is governed by a General Assembly resolution dating back to the beginning of the UN. The resolution, he said, states that no unauthorized person is allowed to use a UN logo.

Next in Lifestyle

Malicious Melodrama - Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’
By: Howard Davis
The Austerity Of Quiet Despair - Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’
By: Howard Davis
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media